DirecTV Group Inc. has agreed to sell its remaining 50-percent interest in Hughes Network Systems to SkyTerra Communications Inc. for $100 million.

The all-cash deal announced Thursday gives SkyTerra complete ownership of Germantown, Maryland-based Hughes, which provides broadband satellite equipment and services to corporate customers.

El Segundo-based DirecTV and SkyTerra jointly own Hughes Network Systems, which was once a direct unit of DirecTV.

The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2006, includes a $10 million payment from Hughes to DirecTV to resolve post-closing adjustments related to SkyTerra’s initial purchase of its interest in Hughes.

SkyTerra is an affiliate of New York-based investment firm Apollo Management LP.